THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 26, 2024 Page 13 GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE ROUNDUP: Somerville races to top in GBL Baseball race; Malden & Revere battle in Boys Volleyball Girls softball features Medford, Everett & Revere jockeying back-and-forth for top spot By Steve Freker W hen the season began, it was generally agreed that a number of teams could challenge for the top spot in the Greater Boston League Baseball race. For the past several years, it has been all about “The Lynns”: Lynn Classical and Lynn English. Lynn Classical has dominated the GBL for the past two seasons, winning back-to-back league titles and putting together an eye-opening, 35-5 record overall. In 2021, the fi rst season back from the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, Classical fi nished in second place behind that year’s 2021 league champ, Lynn English. How about this year? Well, both of the Lynn teams – Classical and English – have younger than usual rosters, as both the Classical Rams and the English Bulldogs graduated many senior starters. Longtime Lynn Classical Head Coach Mike Zukowski also resigned after last season, leaving the program to free up his time to be able to follow his own son’s sports career at St. Mary’s High School in Lynn. Familiar Lynn coach Leon Elwell took over for Zukowski. Elwell is well-known in the Babe Ruth circles, having led several Lynn teams to New England and once to a National Championship tournament. With the “Lynns” apparently in the rebuilding mode, it was believed that the door was open for several other teams to challenge for the top spot. Maybe Malden, with a good mix of veterans, like senior captains Zeke Noelsaint, Jake Simpson and Ryan Coggswell, and young talent like pitchers sophomore Ryan McMahon and freshman Ryan Bowdridge. But look out, GBL, here comes Somerville! Very few expected that Somerville High’s Highlanders would be a key factor in this year’s GBL Baseball race. Like the Lynn teams and also Revere, Somerville was a senior-dominated team last season. This year? Somerville has perhaps the best two-way player in the league on its roster – senior lefthanded ace pitcher and middle of the lineup slugger Ian Born – but was expected to have a bit of a struggle with a rebuilding year. Born has not disappointed. All he has done is represent as the top pitcher in the league, 4-0 on the mound with an 0.88 ERA and hitting at a robust .556 clip with 13 RBIs in 9 games, both league-leading numbers. His younger brother Colin Born has two pitching wins himself to boost the Highlanders. Looks like Head Coach Matt Revere Boys Volleyball Coach Lianne O’Hara Mimmo (Courtesy photo) Malden Boys Volleyball Coach Dan Jurkowski (Courtesy photo) O’Donnell’s Somerville team has skipped the “rebuild” laLEAGUE | SEE PAGE 17 Somerville High senior lefty Ian Born is the top pitcher and hitter in the Greater Boston League. (Courtesy photo)
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